This cravat end of Brussels bobbin lace, one of the finest examples in the Museum's extensive collection of lace, contains many allusions to Louis XIV and his military victories. In the center, the cock of France perches atop trophies of war flanked by figures of Mars and Minerva; and emblems of the king--the Order of the Holy Ghost (left) and the sun (right)--fill the upper corners. Louis XIV's monogram, a double L, appears in the swag at the bottom center.

Cravat End

This cravat end of Brussels bobbin lace, one of the finest examples in the Museum's extensive collection of lace, contains many allusions to Louis XIV and his military victories. In the center, the cock of France perches atop trophies of war flanked by figures of Mars and Minerva; and emblems of the king--the Order of the Holy Ghost (left) and the sun (right)--fill the upper corners. Louis XIV's monogram, a double L, appears in the swag at the bottom center.

Artist/maker unknown, Belgian

Geography: Made in Brussels, Belgium, Europe

Date:c. 1700-1715

Medium: Linen bobbin lace (point d'angleterre)

Dimensions: 12 3/4 x 16 1/2 inches (32.4 x 41.9 cm)

Curatorial Department: Costume and Textiles

Object Location:

Currently not on view

Accession Number: 1990-1-2

Credit Line: Purchased with funds contributed by The Women’s Committee and the Craft Show Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1990

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Label:An incredibly expensive status symbol for elite men and women throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, lace was worn where it showed to best advantage, such as at the ends of the cravat a man tied around his neck. This fine example contains many allusions to Louis XIV and his military victories. In the center, the cock of France perches on trophies of war above a double L, the king's monogram. Flanking this, angels blow trumpets of fame above the flag-wielding figures of Mars and Minerva.

Additional information:

Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections

By the third quarter of the seventeenth century lace-trimmed cravats had replaced lace collars as the fashionable form of men's neckwear at the courts of Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England. The rectangular shape of the lace trim at both ends of a fine linen cravat allowed for a wide range of designs. Brussels lace makers in particular excelled in creating delicate yet complex figurative compositions with motifs often taken from ornamental engravings. This cravat end of Brussels bobbin lace, one of the finest examples in the Museum's extensive collection of lace, contains many allusions to Louis XIV and his military victories. In the center, the cock of France perches atop trophies of war flanked by figures of Mars and Minerva; and emblems of the king—the Order of the Holy Ghost (left) and the sun (right)—fill the upper corners. Louis XIV's monogram, a double L, appears in the swag at the bottom center. Dilys Blum, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 85.

The Fine Art of Textiles

This design contains the monograms and other attributes of Louis XIV of France (1683–1715). An identical cravat end (they were made in pairs) is in the Art Institute of Chicago. One of the two was illustrated in Alan. S. Cole's Ancient Needlepoint and Pillow Lace ([London, 1875] pl. XVII), by which point it was in the collection of Louisa, marchioness of Waterford. Dilys E. Blum, from The Fine Art of Textiles: The Collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1997), p. 70.